INSTG018 Introduction to Programming and Database Querying

This module uses JavaScript (ECMAscript) to introduce the fundamental principles of procedural computer programming and scripting languages. It reinforces these concepts by practical application in the context of automated web browser and document manipulation. Fundamental programming topics include data types, operators, variables, flow control via selection and iteration, arrays and objects, functional abstraction, methods and constructors, abstract data types and pattern matching. Applications include manipulation of web browsers and documents, dynamic generation of web content, and form verification via regular expressions. The module concludes with a brief introduction to SQL querying of relational databases.

Learning outcomes: Upon successful completion of this course, you will have an understanding of the basic principles of procedural computer programming. You will be able to apply this knowledge in order to embed scripts within HTML documents to affect behaviour of web browsers and document content and appearance, and to generate HTML-based web content dynamically. You will be able to write scripts to perform simple form verification using pattern matching and regular expressions. You will have a basic understanding of relational databases and be able to write SQL queries in order to update and retrieve data sets from such databases.